Nine Tree by Parnas Seoul Myeongdong II — Hotel in Seoul

This is overall a really solid hotel if you find yourself in Seoul. It's well kept, clean, and we found the service to be great. The location was perfect for what my wife and I were looking for; it's centrally located, very convenient to get to anywhere you want to go, while not being in a super red hot tourist hotspot. One night we found our way to the area around the other Nine Tree location, the one in Myeongdong Market, and I couldn't be happier that we weren't there. As a New Yorker, I'm not looking to stay in whatever foreign city's equivalent of Times Square is - I'd much prefer somewhere a little more quiet, a little more slow, but that's still convenient, and I feel like the location of Nine Tree Myeongdong II fit the bill perfectly.

One issue we had with the hotel was that the toilet flush in our room was very loud. I think this has something to do with the bidet unit they have, but it's pretty disruptive to the point where you want to avoid flushing the toilet if there's someone asleep in the room with you. Minor overall, but noteworthy.

The walls of the hotel are also pretty thin. We were on a pretty calm floor, but there was an evening where the people next to us came in very late and were drinking and talking and things like that. Nothing terrible, but they were very audible. If you end up unlucky and have noisy neighbors, I could see this being more of an issue. Honestly, the noise travel is probably similar to other hotels in the area. Just bring some ear plugs if you're sensitive to this sort of thing.

One last note, for any western travelers - the beds are pretty firm. This is standard in Asia, and I've certainly stayed in places with harder beds. But it's not the level of softness you'd get in a western hotel. I didn't wake up with my limbs asleep and my back aching like I have in some hotels in Japan, China, or Vietnam, but it's still pretty firm if you're not used to it.

Something that's neither positive or negative, just something to note, is the morning breakfast buffet is relatively pricey. $25k won per person, for two people it's equivalent to maybe $35 - 40 depending on the exchange rate. I wouldn't come here expecting to eat breakfast every day unless you want to add a small fortune to the cost of your trip. There are plenty of great breakfast places in the immediate area, literally within 15 minutes there are dozens of options ranging from traditional Korean food to a full American brunch with toast and bacon. Almost all of it will be less expensive than the hotel's buffet, so I'd recommend going out and exploring.

Also another FYI - there's a coin laundry in the basement. Another review on here advised you have "plenty of coins" available for this - but actually, the machines down there all take credit card. I didn't use any coins at all and just paid with my CC. So I don't know if that review is old or not, but rest assured, this hotel has laundry and you can pay with card. It's 4k won each for wash and dry, but the machines are large and I was able to do a week of me and my wife's clothes in one go.

Also - the curtains were great. A lot of hotels get this wrong, but the curtains here are legitimate blackout curtains. As someone who needs absolute darkness to sleep, I'm always happy to see a good set of blackout curtains when I head out on vacation.

I know I spent most of this review highlighting negatives. Overall, I really do recommend this hotel. If I could give it a 4.5, I would. It wasn't perfect, but it hits a lot of the right notes. It's a great spot to...

The first thing I noticed as I arrived at the floor was that 'new carpet' smell which confirmed that the hotel is very new, the room also was very much in perfect condition. I had the skybed (or something like that) where the bed looks towards the window. Bit of a marketing feature as I didn't sit in the bed just to look out the window, but with a view straight to Seoul Tower it was pleasant. If I go back though, I would probably go for the normal bed rotation. fridge (but no mini bar, a plus for me as filled the fridge with what I wanted), kettle, coffee, tea and complementary bottled water. There was sufficient space in the room with an ample desk with multi sockets and USB charging and a small sofa that was nice to sit on, only problem was that you can't see the TV from the sofa in the sky orientation. If you wanted to watch the TV, laying on the bed was your only option. the bathroom was compact without being cramped. A Japanese style toilet seat with all the washing options. The shower is over the bath with a shower curtain which is not my favourite configuration, but for those that like the bath, then you have one. Room safe. Cleaning was good, no quarms there. There is a breakout room on each floor that has a steam iron (no iron in room) and filtered water. Breakfast was on the 2nd floor, simple but adequate and the head waiter was always up for a chat. The convenience store in the foyer of the hotel is a real plus, although a little more expensive than others it was great to be able to shuffle down in your slippers for a drink/nibbles. Coin laundry in the basement was great to have as I was there a while it was easy to pop down and do the washing without having to pay hotel washing prices. There is a lounge on one of the upper floors with inside and outside sitting areas. I bit sparse, but that is probably because the hotel is new and with time they will add more useful things. Coffee m/c here, but only powdered milk - yuck!. Hotel staff were great and being a longer term resident most got to know my name. One of the reception staff even said 'hi' to me when I was walking around town. They have really good umbrellas at reception for anyone visiting during rainy season. For anyone staying for over a few days there is the free lend of a mobile phone, not the latest phone versions, but useful to be able to use google maps when out and about. Just outside the hotel are a number of coffee shops and restaurants and you are only a very short walk from the Myeongdong area and all the shops there. The airport bus stops a short distance (5mins walk) away from the hotel. Also the train station is less than...

I’ve stayed at my fair share of hotels , and this hotel is one of the best in terms of experience and comfort. It’s a 4 star hotel but I would give it 5 stars!

Pros:

My husband and I had the biggest bed I’ve ever seen . It’s like they merge two king beds. If they did, it’s done quite seamlessly. Plus we were given two blankets by default! Which was a huge plus cause usually when we share a king bed in a hotel, we have to share one blanket. It’s a big deal cause our tolerance for the air con temperature is very different so imagine one blanket and one of us wants to cuddle under it, while the other wants to throw it away.

The toiletries smell (and are!) so nice. I’m not normally one to use hotel toiletries and would often bring my own. But throughout my 8 nights stay here I used all their toiletries every single day.

The concierge called a cab for us and my husband left his waist pouch in the cab. So I emailed the hotel and they replied within a few hours saying that the pouch has been retrieved and was kept at the front desk. Excellent service and follow up!

Clever use of space such as the work desk converting into a dresser mirror (see photo). So clever !

Convenient minimart at the lobby that’s well stocked with fresh fruits everyday. There is a good discount or sale every evening (buy 2 get 1 free) so don’t forget to go before you head back to your room!

Shared microwave and water dispenser on every floor, so you can top up your own water bottles without having to ask the lobby or housekeeping for water every day. I love this feature !

you can order decent and good fried chicken and beer through the hotel and have it delivered ! We tried the half and half

Walking distance to a beautiful cathedral and night market / shopping

Cons: the only con I can think of is the distance to the nearest train station. It’s not far but when it’s raining and you’re tired after a days walk, it can feel pretty bummed

there is construction opposite the hotel and our room was facing it directly but it really didn’t bother us much cause we were out exploring Seoul most of the time. Who stays in the room long enough to really enjoy the view anyway ?!

buffet breakfast is not that great, decent variety but who goes to Seoul and have breakfast in the hotel?!

Overall, I love my stay at this hotel and will definitely stay here again if I come...